Pressure King Pro - Review

I love getting kitchen gadgets. The unboxing, using it for the first time and getting creative with meals is one of my favourite things to do. So when I was asked if I would like to review the Pressure King Pro I jumped at the chance! Only a couple of days earlier I was telling the hubby that I needed a new slow cooker as my other one had broken so after having a look at the Pressure King Pro online I was definitely excited for it to arrive. I have never used a pressure cooker, but I do have memories of my mum using one when I was a child. Of course they have all updated since then and are even digital! Before the Pressure King Pro arrived I really was not sure what to expect but I could not wait to find out more.

Thanks to the speedy delivery from ao.com it arrived in no time. The first thing that I was surprised at was the size of the Pressure King Pro, it was bigger than I was expecting which is fantastic when you are preparing meals for a family of five. The Pressure King Pro comes with everything that you need to prepare delicious meals in even less time!

Before you can use the Pressure King Pro for the first time you need to give it a steam clean. This is to ensure that all parts are thoroughly clean before you add any food.

To really jump in at the deep end I decided that my first meal using the Pressure King Pro would be a joint of beef in a ragu sauce.

This is what I did...

New Panasonic L500 Slow Juicer Plus Recipes

When Panasonic contacted me about their new L500 Slow Juicer I was curious to see how it could be different to regular, high speed juicers. We already have a high speed juicer but due to the sheer size and bulkiness of the machine it has been tucked away in a cupboard! When I read that this was a more compact machine I knew that our kitchen really would put it to the test. We have a good sized kitchen, but lack on storage and worktops due to the shape of the room. So finding kitchen equipment that we will be able to have out, to hand, all of the time is a must and can be difficult.

When the parcel arrived the first thing that I noticed was that it was not a large box, this immediately pleased me. If the box is not large, the contents cannot be large!

Before I tell you how I got on using the Panasonic Slow Juicer, let me give you some technical information as well as what the benefits are of slow juicing as opposed to high speed juicing and why it is better for you. I will also be sharing with you an iced dessert, iced cocktail and a juice recipe!

Keeping Kids Safe in the Kitchen

Spending time in the kitchen, cooking or baking, with the children is an wonderful activity to do together. I find that when the children have helped to prepare, cook or bake food they are more likely to try and experiment with new foods. We all know that kitchen safety is important when cooking but when children are also in the kitchen it is even more important.

Today I thought that I would share with you my top tips for keeping little ones safe in the kitchen. These tips will be not only focus on cooking time but will also focus on everyday safety. I find that regularly checking not only refreshes my mind but also ensures that the children stay safe.

Foodie Gifts from UncommonGoods

Are you looking for a gift for a foodie in your life? Or looking for a different gift? If so then the UncommonGoods are what you are looking for!

UncommonGoods are based in Brooklyn, New York City and ship their products worldwide. UncommonGoods was founded in 1999 by David Bolotsky after he was inspired by a visit to the Smithsonian Museum craft show. There he was captured by the huge variety of quality, handmade goods and the huge demand that there was for such products. UncommonGoods is a selling site which brings together independent seller in one place and brings them to a wider audience.

When buying gifts or products for myself I love to get items which are unusual and original. This is what I find most attractive about UncommonGoods, they are as the website name states, unusual!

The website has gifts and products for everyone, him, her, kids, home, baby shower gifts, kitchen, art and jewellery.

So when UncommonGoods offer me a voucher to buy some of their products I was excited to get something kitchen related. Come on, I'm a foodie, I love kitchen goodies!

Below are the great products that I ordered!

One thing that I always need is more storage space so when I saw this functional but stylish utensil carousel from Joseph Joseph I could not resist it. This has to be my favourite purchase. The utensils have an extra bar along the back with a special weighed handle so that the head of the utensil is raised. This ensures that my work tops stay clean and that the utensils keep clean.

Ideas How To Improve Kitchen Storage

I do love my kitchen and I have told my Kitchen Tale in the past all about how we had to redesign our kitchen before we moved into our home. This was such an exciting project for us, but particularly for me. I have never had the opportunity to design my own kitchen before. This is our first house and we hope that it will be our last. When we designed the kitchen we added all of the storage that we could with the budget that we had. However three years down the line we have realised that we need more storage. That is the one thing that we really do lack. This got me thinking to how we can add more storage.

As you can see from the picture above we really do lack storage space. Our kitchen is not long but is very wide. So it is paramount that we utilise the space that we do have to the best of our abilities. I am no interior designer so I did what most of us do, I went online to look for ideas. After looking through many different websites I came across Homify. This website is jam packed full of ideas for every part of your home. From kitchens to dining rooms, from gardens to study and office areas, from living rooms to bedrooms. They have ideas for every room that you may have in your house including the outside area!

Edge of Belgravia Black Diamond Knife Block and Precision Chef Knives - Plus Giveaway!

I love discovering new kitchen gadgets and utensils that make cooking and food preparation easier. When cooking and preparing foods having a good set of knives is essential.

The knives that I currently use are good, but I have been looking for some that were better and ones that would last. So when I was asked if I would like to try out Edge of Belgravia Precision Knives and Black Diamond Knife Block I was curious to see if these would be the knives that I have been looking for.

Edge of Belgravia are one of the world most innovative brand of chefs knives. They offer a contemporary design along side high tech materials and supremely sharp stainless steal knives which make their knives an irreplaceable piece of kitchen equipment. Edge of Belgravia was established in London in 2010 and officially launched in 2012 make them a relatively new brand which really has gained high acclaim in a short period of time.

How Celebrity Chefs Have Made Us Kitchen-Obsessed - Guest Post

Their cookery shows litter TV channels, their recipe books dominate the bestseller shelves and their branded products fill our cupboards. There’s no denying it - we’re officially in the era of the celebrity chef. The last few decades have seen a wave of professional cooks being catapulted into the public eye, and this has resulted in a dramatic shift in the way we think about home cooking. No longer are our kitchens simply functional spaces used to carry out the everyday task of cooking. Instead, they’re a place to experiment with exotic ingredients, show-off our culinary talents and make a fashion statement. Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which celebrity chefs have made us kitchen obsessed.

Making a style statement

The fact is, kitchens are no longer just kitchens - they’re an embodiment of our style preferences and lifestyles. Thanks to TV chefs like Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Nigella Lawson, an increasing number of homeowners have started turning their attention towards their cooking spaces in a bid to replicate the homes of these famous foodies. With Jamie’s rustic wooden worktops, Nigella’s sleek pink cabinets and Gordon's extravagant appliances, there’s more of a focus on aesthetic appeal than ever before. Long gone are the days when the kitchen was a forgotten about room reserved merely for food preparation. Now, it’s the heart of the home, a space that is being used to show off our taste in decor and display our favourite pieces of furniture.

Dream Kitchen

You may remember a while ago I wrote about my hopes and dreams for a new kitchen area. Well things are moving in the right direction. If you did not read the post let me set the scene!

When we bought our home two and a half years ago we had huge hopes for it. The kitchen needed completely redoing, the bathroom moved from downstairs to upstairs to create a utility next to the kitchen, we took out the old fire place and had new carpets and floors downstairs. It was a lot of work in a short space of time. We saw the house as a blank canvas that over time we could make into our ideal, perfect family home.

Two years on things are now really starting to develop and we can see that our dreams are going to become a reality.

So what are our dreams?

What is our dream kitchen are going to be like?

This is what my kitchen looked like when we moved in...

Ozeri Artesio Electric Pepper Grinder

As you will know I love discovering new kitchen gadgets. When I was asked if I would like to try out the new Ozeri Artesio Electric Pepper Grinder I jumped at the chance!

Sometimes, especially when making a sauce, it feels like you need two pairs of hands in the kitchen. The sauce needs constant stirring to prevent it going lumpy but it needs seasoning. This is where having an electric pepper grinder comes in and I couldn't wait to try it out!

Kitchen Tales with Fairy Platinum

When I look back at my kitchen story I see a journey. A journey from purchasing our first house, creating our (my) first kitchen, to creating memories.

When we moved in the kitchen was quite bare and out dated. It needed a lot of TLC and it needed making into "our" kitchen, the heart of our home. The hubby left the kitchens decisions to me and I found the whole experience so exciting. I am very much a kitchen person and truly believe that the kitchen is the heart of the family home. It had to be perfect!

The original kitchen

I spent weeks looking at the different choices that we could afford before I came to a decision. Once my kitchen had been chosen, I left our fitter to do his magic in transforming the old kitchen into a kitchen where many times will be spent together as a family.

The old kitchen and flooring was ripped out and work began.

Miraculously, it was all ripped out, new units and appliances fitted in just 5 days.

We were lucky to have some great workmen who did everything in their power to get the kitchen finished so that we were able to move in just in time for Christmas.

This is our kitchen at the moment. In the future we hope to extend it. We dream of making it into the true hub of the house. Our dream area would be an open plan kitchen/diner/living area. One day we will get what we wish, but for now we love our kitchen and I love creating dishes for my family to enjoy.

 

I am a true believer in the quote "A family that eats together, stays together". We make it an important time of day when all five of us are together. This is our time to talk, catch up on what we've all done during the day and of course enjoying food! After enjoying a delicious, homemade meal together the last thing we want to do is spend a long time cleaning up. That's where Fairy Platinum comes in. We can enjoy all the food we like without worrying about leaving dishes to soak. We just place them in the dishwasher and let Fairy Platinum do the hard work! Perfect for spending even more time together as a family! Fairy Platinum is also kind to our dishwasher by not just cleaning the pots and pans, Fairy Platinum also helps to keep the filter clean! Which inevitably helps keep it going for longer!

This post is an entry for the "My Kitchen Story" linky challenge sponsored by Fairy Platinum. Visit Fairy Platinum Facebook page here